2020 NBA Draft prospects

[Mattya]

I'm not sure that the Wolves should prioritize PG in this draft, at least not over wings. McLaughlin was about as good as you can expect a backup PG to be last season and deserves a shot to establish himself as the teams backup PG and a primary rotation piece--which he will do if he repeats his play last season going forward.

Wings/shooting/wings/shooting/wings/shooting/wings/shooting

You take best available player every time. Trade or sign free agents if you are desperate for fit. JMac had a solid year but he isn’t someone you pass on talent in the draft for when teams are playing multiple PGs together. We are still trying to build up talent either thru the draft or trades and if you want to put together trade packages for good players you need talent.

Sure, if you've identified a PG that you believe will be magnitudes better than anyone on your board. However, a lot of players 'talent' has to do with system/role/cast around them. For example, there are players who are really talented...and the better overall player...but limited in a skill (say shooting) that would cause them to either play much worse in a certain system versus another or be a lot less valuable in one system or another OR they would take away from other core players versus either complement or maximize those players.

I think Philly is a great example of choosing BPA over fit and why it doesn't work. Time and time again the reason talented teams are unsuccessful is because they choose purely BPA over BPA for the scheme. The Wolves scheme prioritizes wings/shooting in a greater way than just about any other system. I think you can make the argument that, if the talent difference is so great, it would be worth it to play more multiple 'ball-handler' lineups as opposed to a wing if say that player is a great shooter... however I don't think it's correct to just say BPA BPA BPA without context. I also think it's important for the Wolves to make choices in drafting players that complement their system. It's clear that the Wolves are going to play a certain system regardless of personal, which means that argument is even more important.

It may be different if the Wolves were willing to optimize their system to their personal. I think to some degree they will mold it to their best players... but ultimately there are a couple of principles that won't change. Those principles are optimizing shot selection and spacing--which means that in order to success it's extremely important that they have players whose best skillset is those skills.

You think Philly is in a bad place because of drafting BPA? I don’t know what that is based on. They were the team of the future before they fired Hinkie and Brand came in.

Taking best fit leads to teams ending up with Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley over Luka Doncic. Passing on the clearly more talented and higher potential player limits futures. I’m not ready to do that. If there is a “fit” player you want you trade up or back into the draft not sacrifice a higher end talent.

[Mattya]

This is my exact ideal offseason. I’d love to find a way to draft Poku on top of this, but if 17 is moved probably not possible.

I don’t know where the Gordon value comes from, but that’s an awful deal for us.

Agreed. Culver straight up for Gordon with what it takes to match salary, but not throwing in the 17.

I’d rather look for cheaper win now players that either have bad contracts, injuries or have fallen out of favor or fit. I think Oubre or Porter Jr could be traded at discounts because of pending FA and fit with their teams.

[Jedzz]

I find it interesting that people are now willing to talk about Towns as a 6 foot something guy instead of always saying 7 footer/legit 7 footer, now that a real 7+ footer is in the conversation.

I've brought it up a few times in the past. This is one reason Wiseman is quite intriguing.

For good or for bad, it would be interesting. Frankly I kind of like his future possibilities should the whole Towns/Dlo thing somehow go belly up during all these team ownership/decision changes that are looming.

Right now, I think Dlo's comment on lotttery day when asked about his intrique about drafting #1 overall, he responded saying sure but also that they have interest in bringing in high level vets. I think he would rather they trade this pick to get Booker or whoever instead of just another rookie to compete with his role, shots, minutes from bench. He seems to want to take the next step of building this into a winner now and I kind of agree. That could also mean finding a true starter that can shoot, cut and defend at a higher level at SF here than what we've seen. But maybe Wiseman makes this step for this team right away in a unique way that Dlo wouldn't see that at this point just yet. We've been saying it for years that Towns needs a big partner and then the prospect of that happening got even worse when Rosas and 1+3+1 came in. Maybe the #1 pick is too much pressure to pass the opportunity off and it happens and we end up seeing two guys in the 7 ft range here.

If I'm intrigued by anything it's what can Towns do if he never has those games were he's getting punked by the Embiids and Jokics anymore. If Wiseman's here, Simmons and Embiid are no longer going to be able to play jack in the box with Towns. And also, exactly what is the limit on this Wiseman and what flexibility to play other positions is he going to show us. Because if he's showing some dribble and drive control already and a semi fluid shot I'm not quite sure we can limit him to stereotypical height forced positions.

[DaMplsKid]

Going into the draft I was hoping we would walk away with Tyrese Haliburton or Devin Vassell These are two best shooters in the lottery and we all should know how important shooting is in the NBA now.

Now that we won the lottery I am not sure what to do. I think we can all agree if we can trade it for Booker you do it in a heartbeat. But the top 3 guys in the draft don't really fit what we need. I am really intrigued to see Wiseman the most. I just think with some many teams going small ball we could beat them up with these to bigs. He is basically the prefect type of fit next to Towns (outside the shooting). I think Towns and Wiseman are quick enough to both play defense on the court at the same time. I know the NBA has changed greatly and these two players are hall of fame players ( Duncan and Robinson) but Towns and Wiseman could bring that back.

Lastly I want nothing to do with Ball at all. I would take Edwards next all day everyday. Ball isn't a great shooter nor plays defense and already thinks he is a star. Don't forget his father too.

If we can't trade the #1 pick take Wiseman and then try and trade back in the lottery for Haliburton or Vassell and lets roll.

[wolves_89]

ESPN's Jonathan Givony has the TWolves taking LaMelo #1 and passing to DLo (playing Devin Booker role) and KAT. DLo isn't a real PG who brings the ball down and sets up his teammates like Ball. He's a combo guard. He may fit better as a SG if you have Ball who would give other teams a fit with his size. DLo could also set Ball up with back door cuts and such. You would not do it with Lonzo, but LaMelo is different, would be comfortable with the ball in his hands all the time, and would be a different type of threat. What do you guys think?

My biggest problem with Ball is that I believe he is going to be pretty awful for his first couple of seasons and is going to take a while to become a positive contributor. I think the Wolves are looking to show big improvement next season, so I'm unsure if the team would want to give him the freedom he will need to develop. My take is that both Edwards and Wiseman are much more capable of contributing in a complementary role in the short term and probably have as good if not better upside.

[KGdaBom]

Going into the draft I was hoping we would walk away with Tyrese Haliburton or Devin Vassell These are two best shooters in the lottery and we all should know how important shooting is in the NBA now.

Now that we won the lottery I am not sure what to do. I think we can all agree if we can trade it for Booker you do it in a heartbeat. But the top 3 guys in the draft don't really fit what we need. I am really intrigued to see Wiseman the most. I just think with some many teams going small ball we could beat them up with these to bigs. He is basically the prefect type of fit next to Towns (outside the shooting). I think Towns and Wiseman are quick enough to both play defense on the court at the same time. I know the NBA has changed greatly and these two players are hall of fame players ( Duncan and Robinson) but Towns and Wiseman could bring that back.

Lastly I want nothing to do with Ball at all. I would take Edwards next all day everyday. Ball isn't a great shooter nor plays defense and already thinks he is a star. Don't forget his father too.

If we can't trade the #1 pick take Wiseman and then try and trade back in the lottery for Haliburton or Vassell and lets roll.

I like the way you think. I'd prefer Okongwu over Edwards, but I still like the way you think.

[Macwolf527]

James Wiseman is the only player I might consider at #1 other than Edwards, but I'm not sure the twin tower concept is a route that can win championships in the league right now. Teams at the top are shooting the three pointer at such a high clip that it's hard to trade 2's for 3's and win. You have to be able to guard the perimeter to slow teams down. With Wiseman, we would have 2 players to slow to switch on the perimeter, thus putting KAT in more situations where he fouls. My biggest argument against Wiseman is the gap between him and Edwards in terms of team production.

If I thought Wiseman could be a transcendant player at his size, I would jump at the chance to draft him. I don't believe he moves the needle enough to warrant changing the style of play the Wolves have committed to, while I believe Edwards could really add an element to our team that makes us one of the most offensively potent teams for years to come. While none of the top three would be considered defensive juggernauts, each has either the length, athleticism or intelligence to become good team defenders. From there, it's just a matter of having the right players at the forwards spots that compliment Russell, Edwards, and Towns. A Russell, Towns, Wiseman core seems limited in terms of what type of production that can have in both offensive and defensive aspects of the game.

[thinktank]

This is my exact ideal offseason. I’d love to find a way to draft Poku on top of this, but if 17 is moved probably not possible.

I don’t know where the Gordon value comes from, but that’s an awful deal for us.

Agreed. Culver straight up for Gordon with what it takes to match salary, but not throwing in the 17.

I don’t understand the fascination with Gordon.

He’s not that great of a defender (he’s ok) and on offense he is dog crap.

[GopherIt!]

What's with all this Wiseman can shoot stuff? Didn't he hit 1 jumper in college? Rose cloured glasses.

He played 3 games of course. My glasses are crystal clear. Rosas will have to determine if its real translatable skill or a mirage. same for edwards.

[Jedzz]

Read on Twitter

Terry is almost certainly going to develop into a useful role player, albeit likely a 6th man type player. I'm not sure he's a good enough distributor to be a starting PG, nor does he have the size to play a different position. I guess he could be a starter for the right team. That is a team whose primary distributor is a point forward ala Ben Simmons, Lebron, Giannis, etc.

He's definitely going to be able to generate his own shots & space the floor, both with the ball in his hands and without--which is valuable.

I wouldn't mind taking him at #17 if he's there, especially if we draft Edwards #1. This strategy would likely result in some further shuffling because between Edwards, Beasley, D Lo, McLaughlin, Okogie, Culver, & Terry there wouldn't be that many minutes to go around. Ultimately, I think you could make it work... but you're looking at a lot of Edwards & Okogie or Culver at the 3... which is maybe fine... but might also be a problem.

I think you'd have to trade either Okogie or Culver as well--personally I'd trade Culver.

He's seems like a capable basketball player and a team could use that. However he's what else but a duplicate of McLaughlin. So I keep going back to better fits and needs if we already have these solutoins in place.

Why wouldn't a Haliburton be better for this team who also was pretty good (3 spots behind Terry) at this "good possesion rate". Both Haliburton and Vassell are much taller players with another 40% shot and better fit this teams needs. Namely a taller wing that can shoot. Instead of pushing 6-5 Edwards into the already crowded group of undersized wings we've already pushed to the 3 in Okgoie/Culver. Even if they take Wiseman early, taking Terry later is still doubling up who we already have and I wouldn't do it unless all the tall shooting wings are already gone. Right after the lottery or the late end of the lottery it appears there will be a good 5 different sg/sf types in the 6'6 range that all shot over 40% in college. I'm sort of starting to wish they didn't win the lottery #1 overall so we couldn't have a chance to flubthis is so much. #7 and #17 could have gave this team exactly what it needed and less guessing on what those players will be capable of. Kind of like last season when I wanted them to stay at 11 and draft Johnson because they simply needed a shooter who could play the 3.

[Klomp]

The more I watch the more I think Deni Avdija could easily be the most impactful player in this draft. We could use a player in the spot he'd play too (call it PF or second SF).

I don't care about Doncic comps. That's not why I like him. He's a great fit for the modern game and for the Minnesota system, he's played against men for years and performed well, and there aren't those questions about motor or work ethic. He seems to check most every box, yet people aren't even considering him an option.

Watch on YouTube

[KGdaBom]

The more I watch the more I think Deni Avdija could easily be the most impactful player in this draft. We could use a player in the spot he'd play too (call it PF or second SF).

I don't care about Doncic comps. That's not why I like him. He's a great fit for the modern game and for the Minnesota system, he's played against men for years and performed well, and there aren't those questions about motor or work ethic. He seems to check most every box, yet people aren't even considering him an option.

Watch on YouTube

If we trade down to 4 or later I too will be endorsing Avdija unless Okongwu is an option.

[gandlogo]

The more I watch the more I think Deni Avdija could easily be the most impactful player in this draft. We could use a player in the spot he'd play too (call it PF or second SF).

I don't care about Doncic comps. That's not why I like him. He's a great fit for the modern game and for the Minnesota system, he's played against men for years and performed well, and there aren't those questions about motor or work ethic. He seems to check most every box, yet people aren't even considering him an option.

Watch on YouTube

I agree. I would take him #1 and not look back. He’s only 19. I get more of a Ben Simmons vibe from him than Doncic. Not quite as athletic, but dang intuitive player and a better outside shooter right now. Has definitely improved his body. Has shoulders to add even more if needed. Not great wingspan, but gets to spots defensively. Plays with an edge. Stone cold killer. Willing to take the big shot - but capable of finding an open teammate. Not worried about the FTs because he has a good stroke (or maybe because Simmons isn’t great at the line either) and he’s young. Similar percentage to an older Brandon Clarke in college. Not worried about right hand dominance because that can be worked on. Gives the Wolves more size at the forward positions. He’s played the pro game where he had to sit and watch before earning bigger roles. Great combination of skills and traits.

[Neeva]

How about the wolves find a way to end up with both Avdija and Edwards? Is it possible?

[jpatrick]

The more I watch the more I think Deni Avdija could easily be the most impactful player in this draft. We could use a player in the spot he'd play too (call it PF or second SF).

I don't care about Doncic comps. That's not why I like him. He's a great fit for the modern game and for the Minnesota system, he's played against men for years and performed well, and there aren't those questions about motor or work ethic. He seems to check most every box, yet people aren't even considering him an option.

Watch on YouTube

My biggest concern is the shot. He’s not incredibly crafty with the handle or above average athletically, so he needs to be able to shoot to create (or be a floor spacer).

Post COVID suspension, seemed like his shot was improved but he struggled with it down the stretch again. So, he’s generally been a low 30s three point shooter along with a 60 (sometimes 50) something FT shooter, which doesn’t bode well for it being a weapon going forward. He does have good form though. Just comes down to whether you think he’ll eventually improve it or not.

Even with that shot, he was named the Israeli league MVP and played solidly, albeit a much smaller role, in Euroleague. He should be able to perform a role in the NBA immediately.

[konumykal]

The more I watch the more I think Deni Avdija could easily be the most impactful player in this draft. We could use a player in the spot he'd play too (call it PF or second SF).

I don't care about Doncic comps. That's not why I like him. He's a great fit for the modern game and for the Minnesota system, he's played against men for years and performed well, and there aren't those questions about motor or work ethic. He seems to check most every box, yet people aren't even considering him an option.

Watch on YouTube

He's my favorite player in this draft. I would take him number 1 no question but the smart move would be to move down to 3 or 4 get more assets and then take him. After they came back from the pandemic break he was ballin' and was shooting well. I think he does everything well.

[KGdaBom]

How about the wolves find a way to end up with both Avdija and Edwards? Is it possible?

Possible, but not recommended. Trade KAT to the Warriors and I'd say it's a done deal.

[TheZachAttack]

You take best available player every time. Trade or sign free agents if you are desperate for fit. JMac had a solid year but he isn’t someone you pass on talent in the draft for when teams are playing multiple PGs together. We are still trying to build up talent either thru the draft or trades and if you want to put together trade packages for good players you need talent.

Sure, if you've identified a PG that you believe will be magnitudes better than anyone on your board. However, a lot of players 'talent' has to do with system/role/cast around them. For example, there are players who are really talented...and the better overall player...but limited in a skill (say shooting) that would cause them to either play much worse in a certain system versus another or be a lot less valuable in one system or another OR they would take away from other core players versus either complement or maximize those players.

I think Philly is a great example of choosing BPA over fit and why it doesn't work. Time and time again the reason talented teams are unsuccessful is because they choose purely BPA over BPA for the scheme. The Wolves scheme prioritizes wings/shooting in a greater way than just about any other system. I think you can make the argument that, if the talent difference is so great, it would be worth it to play more multiple 'ball-handler' lineups as opposed to a wing if say that player is a great shooter... however I don't think it's correct to just say BPA BPA BPA without context. I also think it's important for the Wolves to make choices in drafting players that complement their system. It's clear that the Wolves are going to play a certain system regardless of personal, which means that argument is even more important.

It may be different if the Wolves were willing to optimize their system to their personal. I think to some degree they will mold it to their best players... but ultimately there are a couple of principles that won't change. Those principles are optimizing shot selection and spacing--which means that in order to success it's extremely important that they have players whose best skillset is those skills.

You think Philly is in a bad place because of drafting BPA? I don’t know what that is based on. They were the team of the future before they fired Hinkie and Brand came in.

That's not what I said at all. I said there is more nuance to accumulating talent than BPA, that's really a meaningless platitude.

Taking best fit leads to teams ending up with Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley over Luka Doncic. Passing on the clearly more talented and higher potential player limits futures. I’m not ready to do that. If there is a “fit” player you want you trade up or back into the draft not sacrifice a higher end talent.

This is also not what I said.

[Neeva]

How about the wolves find a way to end up with both Avdija and Edwards? Is it possible?

Possible, but not recommended. Trade KAT to the Warriors and I'd say it's a done deal.

I was thinking more along the lines of trading 17 and culver for 4 and Felicio to draft Avdija.

[jpatrick]

How about the wolves find a way to end up with both Avdija and Edwards? Is it possible?

Possible, but not recommended. Trade KAT to the Warriors and I'd say it's a done deal.

I was thinking more along the lines of trading 17 and culver for 4 and Felicio to draft Avdija.

I believe Culver has very little trade value at the moment.